Oh, Canada! Bethalto’s Matt Owens with USWNT at World Cup

Bethalto native Matt Owens is the equipment manager for the US Women’s National Soccer Team and is in Winnipeg for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

WINNIPEG — Matt Owens is back to his globe-trotting ways. And while his current stop in Canada isn’t quite as distant as others have been, the Bethalto native is plenty busy as he helps the US Women’s National Soccer Team prep for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup.

As the team’s equipment manager, Owens has plenty of duties to keep him occupied. He and the rest of the USWNT arrived in Winnipeg Monday night.

“The atmosphere is pretty business-like,” Owens said. “We don’t really get the overall magnitude of all the hype.”

Owens, 27 and a 2006 graduate of Civic Memorial High, is working his second World Cup with the women’s team. He also worked during the London Olympics and has his own Olympic Gold medal to show for it.

“We were out to dinner in Newark the other night and saw on TV that the World Cup starts in five days,” Owens said. “It kind of hit some of us that it’s finally time.

“When we touched down in Winnipeg, one of the assistant coaches said, ‘Finally. Canada.’”

Timing is something at which Owens seems to be proficient. He landed his first stint as the USWNT equipment manager while he was handling those same chores for the now-defunct Saint Louis Athletica professional women’s soccer team. He joined the U.S. squad just in time for the 2011 World Cup in Germany.

Owens is one of three St. Louis-area natives with the team. The other two are players Lori Chalupny and Becky Sauerbrunn. Chalupny, goalie Hope Solo and forward Shannon Boxx are all former Athletica players.

Following the London Olympics, Owens accepted a job in ticket sales with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. He remained in that position until earlier this year, when US Soccer approached him about returning.

The U.S. team, one of the pre-tournament favorites, will open group play against Australia at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Winnipeg Stadium. Nigeria and Sweden are the other two teams in Group D.

The second game for the U.S. will be against Sweden at 7 p.m. June 12. the final pool game will be June 16 against Nigeria in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.

“We got in about 9 (Monday) night and it took a while to get through customs,” Owens said. “They cleared the team equipment, but the players’ personal bags were in with them, so that took some time.”

Owens was part of the crew that was given the task of loading the plane for the trip to Canada. Following an exhibition game in New Jersey on Saturday, the team remained there before departing for Winnipeg.

“We have about five tons of gear,” Owens said. “It fills two 24-foot trailers – and one 737 jet. We travel with 40 passengers, so there was plenty of room there, but in the cargo hold, it was packed tight.”

Owens helps prepare the field for practice sessions as well as for pre-game warmups and he’s on the bench during matches to coordinate any equipment needs.

He handed out his first “blood jersey” to Abby Wambach last month, who suffered a broken nose in a May 10 friendly match against Ireland.

“There are three jerseys for each player,” Owens said. “The one they start the game with, a spare in case they want to change at halftime and we keep a bag of “blood jerseys,” in case they get blood in theirs and have to change.”

Players must change jerseys if they get blood on them.

Owens has another set of duties during the World Cup.

“I’m sort of the team runner,” he said. “If one of the coaches needs an update on a score from a group game, I’ll go inside and get the information. It can’t be done on the sidelines, because there are no electronics of any kind allowed on the sidelines, including smart phones.”

Owens, who continues to live in Nashville, Tenn., has been on the road with the USWNT, as the team had made stops around the country playing exhibition games leading up to the World Cup.

The first World Cup games are set for Saturday. The tournament is scheduled to run through July 5, when the championship game will be played in Vancouver.

“I think I’ve been in Nashville three days since May 1,” Owens said. “This last trip was 26 days. I’m hoping this one lasts about 40 days. That would mean the championship game for us.”